Salalah project gets GE turbines

Muscat: General Electric (GE) has received contracts totalling nearly $300 million to provide advanced 6FA gas turbines and long-term services for the Salalah Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP), which will help support strong economic growth in the Dhofar region of southern Oman, the company said yesterday.

The plant, located in the Taqah area of Salalah, about 1,000 kilometres southwest of the Omani capital city Muscat, will have a capacity of 445 megawatts of electricity and 15 million imperial gallons per day of desalinated water to help meet the region's growing power and clean water needs.

"Both the power and water demands in the Dhofar region have been increasing steadily over the past several years," said Bob Whitelaw, Chief Executive Officer of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company.

"The Salalah IWPP is a critical part of the growth and investment plans for the Sultanate's continued social and economic development."

All of the electricity and water output from the plant will be sold under a 15-year power and water purchase agreement executed by the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company and Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water Company, which is 60 per cent owned by Sembcorp Utilities and 40 per cent owned by the Oman Investment Corporation.

"The Salalah IWPP project demonstrates our commitment to deliver advanced technology solutions and services to support the Sultanate of Oman's and the region's growing power and water needs, which are critical to providing its citizens with a high quality of life," said Joseph Anis, GE Energy's President for the Middle East.

"This project is another example of the worldwide trend we are seeing toward the integration of power and water production at a single site, especially in the Middle East where population and industrial growth rates exceed many other regions of the world. Water and energy are interdependent; energy is needed to generate desalinated water and water is needed to produce energy. GE has the scale, diversity and expertise to effectively support power and water projects around the world," Anis added.

GE also has signed a 15-year contractual service agreement for the project.